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Erapalli Prasanna, the former India offspinner, has criticised the Indian board for not utilising his services enough at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore and stated that as his reason for joining the Indian Cricket League’s executive board.”Though I’m based in the same city, my services at the NCA were utilised only up to a bare minimum,” Prasanna told . “When [ICL chairman] Kapil Dev spoke to me he told me the league wanted me to fulfil one of its prime objectives – developing good spinners. I found that my objective tallied with theirs. So, I liked the idea and joined the league.”Prasanna said his duties with the NCA this season were restricted to five days each in Nagpur and Kolkata and none at the academy in Bangalore.But despite having spent only a few days with young spinners, Prasanna said his coaching had positive results. He cited the example of Piyush Chawla, the legspinner picked for the one-dayers against England. “When everybody else shouted that he should be made to play domestic cricket for some more time, only I contended that he needs to be utilised in the top level. And the results are for all to see,” he said.Chawla had a successful India A tour of Zimbabwe and Kenya where he picked up 30 wickets in four first-class games including a 10-wicket haul against Zimbabwe before being called up to the senior squad in England.”Despite showing results, they under-utilised me. When I raised this issue I was cold-shouldered,” Prasanna said. “So, I thought here is a platform [ICL] where I can dedicate myself to the job of developing spinners for India.”Apart from Kapil and Prasanna, former players Kiran More, Sandeep Patil, Balwinder Singh Sandhu, Rajesh Chauhan and Madan Lal have also joined the ICL in different capacities. The tournament is expected to be played in October between six teams comprising four international, two Indian players and eight upcoming players. The ICL has signed over 45 Indian first-class players and six international players including Brian Lara and Inzamam-ul-Haq.

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Debutant offspinner Mohnish Parmar took five second-innings wickets to help Gujarat to a thumping 248-run victory over Assam. Resuming on 15 for 2, Nishanta Bordoloi and wicketkeeper Rajdeep Das defied the Gujarat bowling for nearly 20 over but once Das was caught behind off Timil Patel, Assam’s resistance was broken. There were not too many meaningful contributions and Assam could manage only two more double-digit partnerships. Sridharan Sharath, the captain, hung around for his 27 and was last man out, falling to medium-pacer Siddharth Trivedi. Gujarat got five points for their efforts while Assam took home none.
ScorecardHaving skittled out Jharkhand for 139 on day three, Madhya Pradesh went one up on day four, bowling them out for 117 to win by 170 runs at Jamshedpur. Rahul Bakshi followed his first-innings 56 with an unbeaten 66 in MP’s 203 for 5 declared before the bowlers turned it on. Jatin Saxena, who scored 125 in MP’s first innings, and Asif Ali spun out 4 for 54 and 4 for 35 respectively, with their brand of legbreaks. No batsman got going and MP needed just 49.4 overs to bowl Jharkhand out. MP took a full five points from their outright win, placing them equal with Goa in the Group P table.
ScorecardHaving conceded a first-innings lead to Goa, Haryana failed in their bid to chase down 241 with nine wickets on day four at Margao. Instead, the hosts dismissed Haryana for 220, 26 runs short of their target, and took five points from an outright win. Slow left-arm spinner Shabab Jakati backed his first-innings 6 for 52 with 4 for 94 and Robin D’Souza fetched 4 for 59 with his medium-pace. Goa began the day 30 for 3 but made it to 221 courtesy opener Sagun Kamat’s 92-ball 60 and wicketkeeper-batsman Ajay Ratra’s 86 from 117 balls. Only Sachin Rana (67) crossed fifty in Haryana’s attempted chase.
ScorecardTripura escaped with a battling last-wicket draw against Services at Agartala, finishing on 202 for 9 in their attempt to chase down 226. Hari Prasad, Services’ opening bowler, took 4 for 50 and the other bowlers chipped in with wickets but Services failed to take that last wicket. Vineet Jain, with an unbeaten 3 from 36 balls, and Jayanta Debnath, with 13 from 37, added 25 valuable runs in 11.2 overs for the final wicket to stave off defeat. From an overnight 308 for 7, Services managed 321 with Yashpal Singh getting to his tenth first-class hundred. Tushar Saha picked finished with 4 for 89 with his slow left-arm spin. Tripura got with three points and Services one.

The Indian Board has identified bowlers in the domestic circuit with suspect bowling actions, and is compiling a list of the same, and is likely to send them to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) to rectify their actions.According to a report in the , 13 bowlers were deemed to have suspect actions during the 2007-08 Ranji Trophy season, when they were seen on video cameras installed to aid the umpires’ coaches.”While going through the video footage for assessing the umpires’ performance, S Venkataraghavan [the BCCI’s director of umpires and former India captain] has noticed some bowlers with suspect actions,” Ratnakar Shetty, the board’s chief administrative officer, told the newspaper.”The list is being compiled and if it is felt that these bowlers require assistance, they will be sent for correcting their action to the NCA,” he said.Surprisingly, some of the bowlers identified are representing their zonal teams in the ongoing Duleep Trophy, but Shetty said: “The main problem is that they haven’t yet been formally reported by the umpires, so we cannot stop them from playing. But after the final assessment of the footage of all the matches, if it is felt that their actions need to corrected, they will have to go through the procedure.”The last bowler to be identified with a suspect action was Rajesh Sharma, the Punjab offspinner, whose career was temporarily put on hold in the 2006-07 season. Sharma eventually joined the Indian Cricket League last year and took three wickets in two games for the Chandigarh Lions.

Shoaib Malik’s initiation in to the captaincy has been a mixed one. He begansmoothly in May last year with an ODI series-win over Sri Lanka, and led ayoung side to the final of the ICC World Twenty20 in September.Since then, the going has been rougher, with four consecutive series losses (ODI and Test) to South Africa and India cranking up the pressure on him. Talk of newcaptains hasn’t been far away, despite the Pakistan board appointing him captainuntil December 2008.But as he prepares to lead Pakistan in their first assignment of 2008, againstZimbabwe, he is hoping a new year might bring new results. “I am more confident nowas captain,” he told reporters days before the first ODI in Karachi.”The senior players are supporting me and I’m happy the board has placed itsconfidence in me. I don’t worry about how much time I have. I admit mistakes weremade in the last seven months, but this year there will be no repeat.”Poor results bring their own pressure, often putting personal performances out ofcontext. Malik’s ODI numbers since taking over as captain aren’t bad – from 13matches he averages four runs more than his career average of 34 – yet he was stillasked about a dip in form.”I don’t think my recent record is that bad if you look at it. In my last match inJaipur, I was player of the match [for an all-round performance]. I just want to makesure that the consistency is there,” he said.Malik also asked for more time to be given to Geoff Lawson, who took over as Pakistan’s coach last August, stressing that this was his first international assignmentin that role. Though not overtly criticised, Lawson’s impact has been repeatedlyquestioned and some officials have been privately underwhelmed by his contributionso far.”Bob Woolmer had his own skills, Geoff has his own,” Malik countered. “Bob came with a lot of top experience with South Africa and Warwickshire while this is Geoff’s first international role. It takes time to settle in to that and we should give him that.”There was doubt over Malik’s participation in the run-up to the Zimbabwe series dueto an ankle injury sustained in India, but he believes he has now fully recovered.”I am fit. I came through my rehabilitation, passed a fitness test and am doingeverything the others were at the camp.”With Australia scheduled to arrive soon – to provide the sternest test yet to hisleadership – Zimbabwe offers Malik the perfect platform to chalk up somemorale-boosting wins, ideally on the back of some impressive personal contributions.”This is a good opportunity to try out some young talent and to work out plans aheadof the Australia series. You can’t underestimate Zimbabwe, but we will put all ourefforts in to it.”

Victoria’s coach Greg Shipperd could join his Western Australia counterpart Tom Moody in taking charge of an Indian Premier League (IPL) team after he was approached by the Delhi franchise. Moody has already signed with the Mohali side and Shipperd is keen to be involved provided Cricket Victoria has no objection.The appointments will create an interesting situation should either Mohali or Delhi reach the Champions League, which is to feature the top two domestic Twenty20 sides from India, Australia, England and South Africa. Western Australia and Victoria have already qualified but Shipperd and Moody have both said that if the conflict occurs they will guide their Australian state rather than their IPL team.”Clearly, my first priority is with Cricket Victoria as my employer,” Shipperd told the Age. “In the event of coaching both teams to a final, I would be looking after the Victorians and have a process behind the scenes in place to deal with the other side, which they are comfortable with.”Shipperd said he was surprised at the interest from Delhi, however his Twenty20 coaching record is unparalleled. In three years of the Australian domestic competition Victoria have won all three titles and have only lost one match. He is looking forward to the chance to test his management skills with a different group of players.”It would be a wonderful coaching opportunity to be involved with, to have four or five different international players in the team playing what is the red-hot form of the game at the moment,” Shipperd said. “It’s on-the-job training and hopefully bringing some positive spin-off to Victorian cricket down the track.”John Buchanan is also strongly tipped to coach the Kolkata franchise, although the only definite Australian signing at the moment is Moody as Shipperd’s appointment is not confirmed. Moody says surrounding himself with the world’s leading players will be a terrific experience.”Having to mould a team with stars from around the world into a competitive unit against other extremely talented teams will be a great challenge and one that I am very much looking forward to,” Moody said. “In addition to this, I will be exposed to the marketing and promotional expertise that will go into staging a world-class event.”

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Justin Langer and Shaun Marsh sparkled with half-centuries as Western Australia cruised to an eight-wicket victory over Tasmania in Perth. The Warriors controlled the match from the middle of the first innings and were rewarded with a bonus point as Langer and Marsh finished in a flurry.Langer started cautiously and waited until well after Luke Ronchi departed for an enterprising 27 before he lifted his rate. Once settled, he began to sprint and pounded four sixes in his 75 from 99 balls. Marsh also looked comfortable after a tough opening – he brought up his fifty with a six over long-off – and hit seven fours before slipping to Brendan Drew on 66.The Tigers needed a tail-end recovery from Xavier Doherty (29) and Brendan Drew (33) , who put on an unbeaten 61, to reach 8 for 181 after a horrible mid-innings collapse. Western Australia sent Tasmania in and it proved to be the right decision, even though they had to wait for their rewards.Tasmania had cruised to 1 for 75 when Michael Dighton was run-out taking on Luke Ronchi, but his dismissal for 38 started a dramatic slide to 8 for 120. The captain Adam Voges, bowling left-arm orthodox spin, was the most successful with 3 for 33, which included the fine diving caught and bowled of Mark Divin the ball after George Bailey (21) was run-out in a similar way to Dighton. Aaron Heal was also impressive with 2 for 18 off ten overs as the spinners dominated.Dan Marsh, who fell to Heal for 34, was upset his batsmen failed to adapt to the conditions. “The pitch was much slower than we normally expect here and the ball was sticking in the wicket a bit, making it harder to score,” he said. “A few of us got starts but no-one got a big score, so that was a bit disappointing.”

Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene heaped praise on his bowlers, especially Dilhara Fernando, after his team had completed a comprehensive 70-runs victory over Bangladesh in the first ODI at the P Saravanamuttu Stadium on Friday.Sri Lanka defended their moderate total of 234 for 6 exceptionally well by bowling Bangladesh out for 164 in the 41st over. Fernando rocked the Bangladesh top order after openers Tamim Iqbal and Shahriar Nafees had put on 45 for the first wicket by taking four wickets for 24 runs off nine overs to take the Man-of-the-Match award.”There wasn’t much juice left on it when Bangladesh batted, but there was a bit of bounce in it. Dilhara, Lasith (Malinga) and (Farveez) Maharoof bowled their hearts out. They bowled in really good areas and kept asking questions. All credit should go to Dilhara and the bowlers. They kept it tight and put pressure on the Bangladeshis. Hats off to them, they single-handedly won the game for us,” said Jayawardene.Heaping further praise on Fernando, Jayawardene said: “Dilhara’s been doing well for the last 2 ½ to 3 years. It is just that he has on and off days. There was a lot of criticism thrown at him that he is not consistent. As a captain and as a team we always knew the potential this guy has. We gave him a lot of confidence and he is thriving on that now. It’s good to see the way he is bowling. He’s giving everything he’s got and looking good.”Jayewardene also praised the batting of Upul Tharanga and Chamara Silva who each made half-centuries and figured in an 83-run stand.”The wicket had a bit in the morning. We would have bowled as well if we won the toss. It is just that it was tough. They bowled pretty well. We lost three key wickets and it was very tough for Upul and Chamara to consolidate which they did brilliantly and helped us get a competitive score. I thought we planned it nicely afterwards. 235 was a very competitive score, but it was not a winning score,” Jayewardene said.Fernando lamented the chance of missing out on getting his first five-for in an ODI. After taking 4 for 23 in his first spell of seven overs, he came back to bowl a further two overs without success.”I was a bit unlucky not to get five wickets although I tried hard. Anyway I am happy I bowled my team to victory. It was a good hard wicket, very flat so I tried hitting the deck hard,” he said.Bangladesh’s captain Mohammad Ashraful blamed his middle order batting for letting his side down after his bowlers had done an excellent job in restricting the strong Lankan batting. “We didn’t bat well in the second Powerplay. By the time we went to 50 we had lost too many wickets. The foundation was laid for us by the openers but the middle order disappointed. Fernando bowled well to put us in a spot. It was a good enough score for us to chase on a wicket which had eased up. It was a gettable score on that pitch,” Ashraful said.”The series is still open. We will remain positive and go out for a win in the second one-dayer,” he added.

England XI 314 for 4 (Bell 131*, Cook 66) beat Sri Lanka Board XI 234 (Kapugedera 75, Anderson 3-43) by 80 runs
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Ian Bell scored England’s first century of their one-day tour of Sri Lanka, and James Anderson starred with three wickets, as the team warmed up for their five-match one-day series by defeating a Sri Lanka Board XI by 80 runs at Colombo’s P.Saravanamuttu Stadium.Bell eventually finished unbeaten on 131 from 121 balls, an innings that demonstrated how valuable his level-headed strokeplay would have been to their disappointing Twenty20 campaign in South Africa last week. He cracked 12 fours and four sixes in all, and was joined in the runs by Alastair Cook, who made a steady 66, and Kevin Pietersen, who needed just 29 balls for his even 50.Despite a flu bug that has swept through the camp, England managed to field a full-strength side with Collingwood winning the toss and batting first. Phil Mustard, Matt Prior’s replacement as wicketkeeper, made a shaky start and required 15 balls to get off the mark, and when he fell for 17 after eight overs, England were struggling for momentum on 33 for 1.But Cook and Bell then took the attack to the bowlers in a second-wicket stand of 89, Cook batting with increasing freedom before he holed out to long-on after an 88-ball stay. That brought Pietersen to the crease, and he wasted no time in picking up the same form he had shown in South Africa last week, cracking 17 in a single over to push England up towards the 300 mark.Pietersen fell immediately after reaching his half-century, caught by Viraj Perera off the legspin of Gihan Rupasinghe, but Bell took up the cudgels in the closing overs, with Ravi Bopara chipping in with a run-a-ball 22 before he became a second victim for the legspinner, Gihan Rupasinghe.In reply, the Sri Lankan innings was never able to get going. Ryan Sidebottom, restored to the side after a side strain, was handed the new ball ahead of Stuart Broad, and struck with the first ball of his second over to remove Viraj Perera for 12. When Anderson followed up with the opposition captain, Avishka Gunawardene (11), England never looked back.The young Test batsman, Chamara Kapugedera, held the innings together with an attractive 75, but wickets fell all around him on a slow and low pitch. Broad had Indika de Saram caught and bowled for 25, before Collingwood removed Thilina Kandamby and Gihan de Silva in quick succession – the latter was caught behind to give Mustard his first catch in England colours.At 150 for 5 with 22 overs remaining, the Sri Lankans still had an outside chance of mounting a challenge, but the return of the new-ball bowlers did the trick. Anderson removed Ranga Dias for 20 before claiming the key wicket of Kapugedera, caught behind after an 87-ball stay, and six balls later Sidebottom accounted for Rupasinghe for 1. The ninth-wicket pair of Ashan Priyanjan and Malinga Bandara kept England waiting with a 54-run stand, but Broad bagged Bandara lbw for 27, and Monty Panesar wrapped up the game with his first wicket of the tour.

Chris Gayle, the West Indies captain, has been docked 70% of his match fee after his side failed to meet the minimum over-rate requirements during the second Test against Sri Lanka in Trinidad.Gayle, after a hearing with match referee Chris Broad, was fined on the basis of having breached Level 2.11 of the ICC’s Code of Conduct regulation relating to the “failure by a captain to ensure that his team meets the minimum over-rate requirements.”The rest of Gayle’s team-mates were each fined 35% of their match fee for the same offence, as West Indies were found to have bowled six overs short of the required over-rate.”During the hearing, neither the captain, coach nor manager was able to persuade me that the shortfall in overs was beyond their control or that the allowances permitted to teams by the match officials were not appropriate,” Broad said.”I saw very little evidence that the West Indies team, after learning of their slow over-rate predicament, actually tried to speed things up. Therefore, they left me with little option but to enact this penalty,” he said.Gayle has the right to contest the verdict, and must do within 24 hours of receiving the same by lodging an appeal in writing with the ICC’s legal counsel.

England’s players could face contractual gagging orders in the aftermath of Duncan Flecther’s warts-and-all autobiography.A number of other sports impose such conditions in contracts of international players and coaches, although, as shown by Mike Catt’s recent comments about the England rugby management, those are only effective while the player is still contracted.Speaking to Wales on Sunday, Hugh Morris, the ECB’s managing director, said that it was an issue he would be reviewing. “Part of my new remit is to look at all issues, weigh up both sides of the argument and come up with an agreement that is suitable to both the organisation and the player. Gagging orders raise all kinds of issues with freedom of speech.”Censorship is not on our agenda, but we don’t want players or members of the coaching staff, for that matter, fearing that anything they say or do in the sacred confines of the dressing room is revealed in a book months later.”While any gagging clauses would prevent current players and coaches from speaking out, they would make no difference to someone like Fletcher who was no longer bound by any contract when he released his book.Asked if he had read Fletcher’s observations, Morris said: “I’ve not read the book so I can’t comment on its contents.”